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The  Hope  of 
Sherbro  *  s  Future 
Greatness 


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PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

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PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  H.    LeFevre 

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FEB  11  1953 


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Hope  o!  Sherbro's  Future  Greatness. 


A    LEOTUR-El 


DELIVERED    AT    SHAINGAY    BY 


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1.  A.  Gole^  a  r2atiVe  of    We5ten2  Africa. 


DEDICATED  TO 

Bishop  D,  K,  Flickinger,  D.  D., 

At  the  request  of  Chief  T.  N.  Caulker,  as  a  grateful  acknowledgement 

•f  his  great  interest  and  anxiety  for  the  evangelization 

and  civilization  of  Sherbr*  Country. 


Dayton,  Ohio,  (U.  S.  A.): 

¥niti»  Brbthrbk  Publishing  House. 

i»85. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/hopeofsherbrosfuOOcole 


Tlie  Hope  of  Sherbro's  Future  Greatness. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladles,  and  Gentlemen: — 

Though  conscious  of  my  inability  to  do  justice  to  the  sub- 
ject now  before  us,  as  it  deserves  to  be  handled,  yet  I  shall 
consider  my  feeble  efforts  as  having  been  amply  rewarded  if 
my  poor  country,  Africa,  derives  any  benefit,  or  the  cause  of 
God  be  more  extended,  by  any  suggestion  that  I  may  advance. 

In  treating  of  the  future  hope  of  a  country  or  a  nation,  it 
is  necessary  that  one  should  be  acquainted  with  its  past  his- 
tory and  its  present  progress.  The  past  history  of  the  Sher- 
bro  country,  as  it  is  with  the  past  history  of  the  whole  of 
Africa,  is  written  in  characters  of  blood. 

As  early  as  the  year  1740  the  whole  of  the  Sherbro  country 
was  one  extensive  mart,  whence  Europeans  exchanged 
beads,  spirits,  and  tobacco  for  cargoes  of  human  beings.  John 
Newton,  the  cruel  slave-dealer,  afterward  the  evangelical 
Newton  of  England,  had  at  that  time  his  principal  slave- 
factory  at  the  Plantation  Island,  where  the  ruins  of  his  slave- 
pen  can  still  be  seen,  and  also  a  branch  factory  at  Diiblin, 
on  the  Bananas  Island, — then  belonging  to  Sherbro, — where 
a  lime-fence,  planted  by  him  when  engaged  in  his  nefarious 
traffic,  is  still  standing,  as  a  monument  of  the  sufferings  of 
our  fathers. 

The  Portuguese,  the  French,  and  the  Spaniards  rushed 
into  the  country,  obtaining  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Africa 
for  foreign  goods  and  Spanish  gold,  spreading  wars,  rapine, 
and  murder  in  all  lier  borders. 


— 4  — 

"  Auri  sacra  fames/ quid  non  morsalia  pectora  cogis.^^  "O 
thou  execrable  desire  for  gold,  what  dost  thou  not  compel 
mortal  souls  to  do  !  " 

In  his  dispatches  in  1825,  Major-general  Turner,  then 
governor  of  Sierra  Leone,  wrote  that  he  entered  into  treaties 
with  native  chiefs  on  the  Sherbro  rivers,  who  agreed  to  cease 
from  destructive  internal  warfare,  to  give  up  the  slave-trade, 
and  form  a  friendly  alliance  with  England,  for  the  benefit 
of  protection,  and  of  trade  in  the  productions  of  Africa  in 
exchange  for  European  commodities.  He  recommended 
strongly  that  the  Sherbro  rivers  should  be  blockaded,  and 
that  by  so  doing  the  government  would  be  able  to  prevent 
an  annual  exportation  of  30,000  slaves  from  Sherbro  alone. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  governor  died  of  fever  while 
writing  his  letter.     Hence  his  plan  was  not  then  executed. 

A  few  years  after  the  return  of  John  Newton  to  England 
a  vessel  came  laden  with  goods,  with  Messrs.  Cleveland, 
Tucker,  and  Caulker.  Mr  Cleveland  landed  at  the  Bananas 
Island,  and  established  himself  at  the  slave-factory  of  John 
Newton.  Mr.  S.  Caulker  came  to  the  Plantain  Island,  and 
Tucker  sailed  south-east  and  settled  in  the  country  of 
the  Gbas. 

The  locality  of  the  Plantain  Island,  and  the  prosperity 
of  the  Caulkers,  raised  a  spirit  of  jealousy  in  the  Clevelands^ 
A  great  enmity  soon  arose  between  them,  which  ended  in 
war.  Mr.  Cleveland  collected  a  good  army  and  suddenly 
attacked  Mr.  Caulker  in  the  Plantain  Island,  so  that  he 
had  to  surrender.  The  island  was  then  claimed  by  the 
Clevelands,  and  Mr.  Caulker  submitted  to  be  employed  by 
them,  and  was  removed  to  their  head-quarters  in  the  Bana- 
nas Island.  Whilst  in  his  employment  at  the  Bananas,  Mr. 
Caulker   appropriated  all   his   income  to  the  preparation  of 


— 5  — 

implements  of  war,  and  in  sending  presents  to  the  various 
chiefs  in  the  Sherbro  country,  as  far  up  as  to  the  Boom, 
Kittam,  and  Bompeh  rivers.  Thus  he  continued  for  several 
years,  until  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  for  retaliation. 
Then  he  gave  up  his  employment,  and  marched  his  army, 
consisting  of  men  from  the  various  tribes  of  the  Sherbro 
country,  into  the  Plantain  Island,  where  a  single  day's 
engagement  restored  him  to  his  right,  and  made  him  once 
more  monarch  of  the  island.  Mr.  Cleveland  afterward  died, 
and  Caulker  with  his  brother  remained  masters  of  the 
island  without  further  opposition. 

Time  will  fail  us  to  dwell  on  the  various  struggles  and 
bloodshed  through  which  this  country  has  passed — Canrab- 
ah  Caulker's  war,  and  the  attempt  of  the  French  to  rob 
Bendoo  from  the  Sherbroes,  which  led  to  the  transference  of 
that  and  many  other  parts  in  Sherbro  to  the  British 
government. 

In  the  year  1847  disturbances  arising  from  boundary 
questions  and  rivalries  arose,  which  were  the  cause  of  great 
confusion.  In  1849  the  British  government  had  to  interfere. 
Accordingly,  on  the  fourth  of  July,  a  treaty  was  signed  at 
Tasso  between  Benjamin  Chilley  Campbell  Pine,  Esq.,  then 
acting  governor  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  Thomas  Stephen  Caul- 
ker, chief  of  the  Plantain  Island,  and  Canrabah  Caulker, 
chief  of  Bompeh,  arranging  the  division  of  the  territories 
among  them  to  save  future  misunderstandings. 

From  the  year  1849  we  pass  over  to  1855.  Early  this 
year  Revs.  W.  J.  Shuey,  D.  C.  Kumler,  and  D.  K.  Flicking- 
er  sailed  out  to  this  country — not  with  chains  and  shackles 
for  orang-outangs,  but  with  the  living  word.  Two  of  this 
number  soon  returned  to  America,  and  the  third  one  also, 
after  being  here   some  over  a  year.     But  the  command,  Go 


—  6  — 

bring  my  sons  from  afar  and  my  daughters  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  so  influenced  the  minds  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Board  of  Missions  that  Revs.  D.  K.  Flickinger,  J.  K. 
Billheimer,  and  Dr.  W.  B.  Witt  returned  in  Januar}^,  1857. 
At  this  time  the  United  Brethren  Church  was  established 
in  Sherbro. 

For  the  past  twenty-eight  years  the  history  of  Sherbro 
has  been  so  influenced  by  religion  that  great  changes  have 
taken  place.  One  of  the  greatest  changes,  attributed  to 
missionary  efforts,  is  the  peace  existing  between  the  two 
cousins,  the  Caulkers  of  Bompeh  and  of  the  Plantain 
Island.  The  influence  of  religion  led  them  to  this  decision 
of  living  peaceably  with  all  men,  and  actuated  them  to  sign 
the  following  agreement  in  the  government  house  of  Free- 
town, on  the  11th  of  June,  1870: 

We,  the  undersigned,  do  solemnly  agree  to  withdraw  all 
personal  complaint  laid  before  the  governor-in-chief  for 
hearing  and  arbitration ;  and  we  further  agree  that  no  al- 
leged wrongs  of  which  either  party  complain  prior  to  this 
date  shall  be  brought  into  consideration  or  discussion  at 
any  future  time. 

Signed.  Thomas  Stephen  Caulker. 

R.  C.  B.  Caulker. 

George  S.  Caulker. 

Canrabah  Caulker. 

Charles  Canary  Caulker. 

If  the  gentlemen  above  named  meant  what  they  said,  does 
it  not  prove  that  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity  had  entered 
deeply  into  their  minds?  Two  years  afterward  the  same 
spirit  was  manifested,  when  through  the  influence  of  Rev. 
J.  Gomer  and  Mr.  LeFevre,  Chiefs  George  Caulker  and 
Richard   Caulker  were  reconciled  with  each  other,  in  the 


presence  of  hundreds  of  people  who  came  to  witness  the 
sight.  We  are  thankful  to  God  that  the  same  spirit  is  still 
existing  in  our  present  chief,  T.  N.  Caulker,  and  is  man- 
ifested by  the  friendly  conference  he  had  with  Chief  Rich- 
ard Caulker,  but  a  few  months  ago.  And  his  willingness  to 
receive  and  protect  missionaries,  his  abhorence  of  war, 
which  led  him  often  to  give  up  his  rights,  and  his  discour- 
agement of  slavery,  brings  forcibly  before  our  eyes  the 
influence  and  power  of  the  gospel. 

Thus  have  we  attempted  to  briefly  sketch  the  past  history 
of  the  Sherbro  nation,  from  the  dark  days  of  slavery  to  the 
golden  age  of  the  Caulkers  and  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity in  this  country.  The  civilization,  customs,  morals, 
religions,  and  manners  of  this  country  during  those  ages  can 
not  be  expected  to  supersede  those  of  the  Germans,  French, 
and  Britons  when  they  were  first  invaded  by  Ciesar.  Of  the 
French  he  says,  "  JSatio  est  omnis  Gallorum  admodum  dedita 
rellgionibus^''  (C.  J.  Ca'saris  Lib.  VI.,  Cap  XV.)  ;  that  is,  The 
whole  country  of  French,  or  Gaul,  is  greatly  addicted  to 
superstition.  They  offered  human  sacrifices,  and  owned  the 
god  Pluto  as  their  great  ancestor.  Hence  they  reckoned 
time  by  nights.  Of  the  Britons  he  says,  "They  had  their 
wives  in  common,  and  children  sometimes  married  their 
parents."  The  Germans,  on  the  other  hand,  neglected  agri- 
culture, lest  any  desire  of  money  should  arise,  whence  spring 
factions  and  dissensions.     (Lib.  VI.,  Cap  XI.) 

But  in  proportion  as  Christianity  was  advancing,  idolatry 
and  superstition  sunk.  The  groves  of  Druid  ism  took  their 
flight,  the  mistletoe  became  merely  a  plant,  reason  supplant- 
ed fear,  and  these  once  uncivilized  nations  are  now  the  most 
civilized  and  the  most  powerful  in  the  world,  whilst  Rome, 
once  the  mistress  of  the  world,  is  "Rome  no  more." 


—  8  — 

Through  patience  and  perse verence,  hope  has  realized  for 
them  what  she  for  nearly  2,000  years  had  been  toiling  for ; 
namely,  their  future  greatness.  We,  too,  expect  the  day  of  our 
visitation.  We  hope  soon  to  possess  in  full  those  things 
which  belong  to  our  peace.  In  climbing  up  the  hill  of  fame, 
however  high,  we  must  move  slowly,  but  surely,  for  we 
have  no  wings  and  can  not  fly. 

The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept, 

Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight; 
But  they,  whilst  their  companions  slept, 

Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. 

I  shall  close  this  section  of  my  subject  in  the  words  of  a 
writer,  a  friend  of  Africa  :  "The  history  of  the  past  ages  for- 
bids despair  in  regard  to  Africa.  Cities  may  yet  arise  to  rival 
the  fame  of  the  ancient  cities  of  Carthage  and  Alexandria; 
but,  if  not,  inferior  marts  of  commerce  may  spring  up  in 
numerous  directions.  Teachers  may  arise  resembling  her 
Cyprian,  Athanasius,  and  other  celebrated  defenders  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Christianity  and  various  kinds  of  knowledge 
will  have  so*happy  a  tendency  to  undermine  all  debashing 
superstitions.  Commerce,  science,  and  Christianity  will  be 
able  to  proceed  in  unison  when  scattering  their  seeds  over 
the  fields  of  Africa,  from  which  fruits  kiay  be  expected, 
alike  to  recompense  the  enterprise  of  the  mercantile  ad- 
venturer and  the  efforts  of  Christian  philanthropists." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PRESENT  AND  PAST. 

In  contrasting  the  present  with  the  past  we  cherish  great 
hope  for  the  future  of  the  Sherbro  country.  A  great  and  fear- 
ful battle  of  twenty-eight  years  has  been  fought  with  the  king 
of  darkness  by  the  missionaries,  and  Jesus  is  the  conqueror. 
Purrowism,  polygamy,  idolatry,  superstition,  and  Moha- 
medanism  are  now  falling  victims  at  Immanuel's  feet. 

Purrowism,  which  is  a  secret  society,  is  losing  its  poAver  and 
influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some  societies  of  this 
kind  are  to  be  found  among  almost  all  African  nations.  The 
Magi  (confounded  with  the  Magicians)  of  Egypt  is  a  class  of, 
or  the  origin,  of  these  secret  societies.  They  do  nothing 
openly.  Neither  could  one  fully  understand  them  without 
being  a  member.  They  conceal  crime  and  protect  a  guilty 
member  from  punishment,  however  heinous  the  offense  may 
have  been.  This  society  was  founded  by  Zoroaster,  a  Per- 
sian. From  the  Arabs  it  spread  through  India  and  Egppt, 
whence  it  traveled  in  various  corrupt  forms  to  Soudan  and 
western  Africa.  Herodotus  says  that  this  society  had  great 
influence  in  the  political  as  well  as  religious  affairs  of  the 
state,  and  that  a  monarch  seldom  ascends  the  throne  with- 
out their  previous  approbation.  He  says  they  also  pay 
particular  homage  to  fire.  A  careful  comparison  of  the  dif- 
ferent African  private  society  will  prove  what  we  have 
affirmed  of  their  derivation  from  the  Magi  of  Egypt,  as  it  is 
the  same  in  law  and  many  other  respects.  The  Avudu  rela- 
tive to  the  Shagoes  are  lightning  worshipers.  They  have 
great  delight  for  fire.     I  have  witnessed  an  Avudu  worship- 


—  10  — 

er,  when  excited  by  his  charms,  devour  a  good  quantity  of 
live  coals  from  a  fireside  with  the  same  pleasure,  seemingly, 
with  which  one  would  enjoy  cakes.  This  may  have  been 
done  by  some  enchantment,  or  may  not  have  been  a  reality, 
but  it  so  seemed.  I  have  heard  the  Kofong  and  magician 
Sama,  of  this  place,  boasting  of  his  capability  of  dancing  in 
two  different  places  at  the  same  moment.  This  comes  very 
closely  to  what  is  said  of  Pythagoras,  the  philosopher, 
magician,  and  fire-worshiper, — that  he  appeared  on  the 
same  day  and  at  the  same  instant  in  the  cities  of  Crotona 
and  Metapontum.  But  the  whole,  I  believe,  is  based  on 
deceitfulness  and  falsehood. 

The  secret  society  of  the  Sherbro  country  was  once  her 
governor  and  legislature.  The  king  was  not  exempt  from 
fines  or  capital  punishment  should  he  violate  its  laws  or  re- 
veal its  secret.  But  its  power  has  greatly  diminished,  and 
its  influence  is  dying  out.  In  conversation  a  few  weeks  ago 
with  Chief  T.  N.  Caulker  on  the  subject,  he  said,  "I  believe 
the  society  will,  in  God's  time,  die  out  of  our  midst.  It 
will  not  be  by  violence,  but  by  the  power  of  the  gospel." 

The  great  contest  with  ignorance  and  sin  was  begun  by 
Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger,  twenty-eight  years  ago,  and  contin- 
ued by  these  self-sacrificing  and  self-denying  men.  Revs. 
J.  K.  Billheimer,  J.  A.  Williams,  the  sainted  0.  Hadley, 
and  others  whose  names  shall  forever  be  engraved  in  the 
memory  of  Africans  as  Christian  philanthropists  and  fathers 
of  Sherbro's  civilization.  They  did  what  they  could,  and 
all  they  could. 

In  the  year  18.70,  the  United  Brethren  Church  adopted 
the  policy  of  an  English  philanthropist  who  once  claimed, 
"The  evils  of  slavery  and  the  superstition  of  the  dark  con- 
tinent must  be  rooted  out!  It  is  by  African  exertions 
chiefly  that  it  can  be  destroyed."  Accordingly  a  negro.  Rev. 
J.  Gomer,  was  sent  out,  to  whom  the  present  stage  of  Sher- 
bro's civilization  is  largely  attributed.  The  work  of  evangel- 


—11  — 

ization  was  carried  on  with  Herculean  might  on  the 
gigantic  shoulder  of  this  man  of  God,  insomuch  that  the 
United  Brethren  Church  in  Africa  is  known  among  us  as 
Gomer's  mission.  The  radical  change  and  the  improve- 
ments during  the  thirteen  years  of  his  labors  and  ministra- 
tion reminds  one  very  vividly  of  Oberlin,  the  pastor  of  Ban 
de  la  Roche,  his  untiring  effort,  his  humble  and  unas- 
suming character,  his  anxiety  to  see  every  one  around 
him  engaged,  his  own  example,  like  St.  Paul,  of  working 
with  his  own  hands.  "  This  man's  great  exertions,  with 
those  of  the  missionaries  now  in  the  field,  and  Mrs.  M. 
Mair,  late  of  Rotufunk  Station,  lifted  Sherbro  to  a  new 
and  higher  scale  of  progression.  The  success  of  these 
missionaries  induced  the  American  Missionary  Society 
two  years  ago  to  transfer  to  them  their  stations  for  a 
term  of  years,  and  the  Freed  men  Missions  Aid  Society 
in  England  is  now,  through  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
stretching  out  its  hand  to  the  rescue  of  the  perishing 
sons  and  daughters  of  Africa. 

Decency  is  also  one  of  the  characteristic  changes  which 
have  taken  place.  Years  ago  the  Sherbroes  wore  nothing  on 
their  persons  but  a  totranger,  and  many  were  to  be  found 
in  a  state  of  entire  nudity.  But  to-day,  instead  of  the  tot- 
ranger, we  find  among  the  male  a  desire  for  the  white  man's 
trousers  and  baltic  shirts  pervading  the  whole  country, 
whilst  the  females  would  pay  anything  for  fine  wrappers, 
and  English  shawls  to  cover  their  shoulders.  I  do  not  mean 
to  advance  this  as  the  case  in  every  town,  but  at  Shaingay 
there  could  not  be  found  at  present  as  much  as  four  young 
females  with  totrangers  fastened  to  a  girdle  of  beads  (or 
Mayemgb©),  which,  as  hitherto,  make  up  the  principal 
dressing  of  a  maiden. 

Another  improvement  is  the  steamer  John  Brown.  It 
affords  an  extensive  view  of  European  civilization.  On 
the  day  of  her  arrival,  a  young  man  from  Manoh  coming 
from  the  mission  was  asked  whether  the  mail-boat  arrived 


—  12  — 

said,  "No,  but  a  large  canoe  with  smoke  just  bring  Ba 
Gomer.  He  big ;  you  can  see  bottom  far  away."  We  hope 
the  steamer  will  remain  long,  so  as  to  facilitate  communica- 
tion between  this  and  civilized  countries,  and  relieve  some 
of  the  fears  of  missionaries  in  their  frequent  travels  by 
water,  thereby  encouraging  and  introducing  Christianity, 
commerce,  and  civilization  into  this  land. 

The  building  of  a  pier-head  and  a  substantial  mission- 
wharf,  with  the  extension  of  the  mission-business  in  a  new 
and  larger  store,  is  also  a  great  advancement  toward  the 
civilization  of  Sherbro.  Many  may  differ  from  me  on  this 
point,  or  may  see  differently  than  I  do,  therefore  I  shall 
enlarge  a  little  here.  I  have  often  heard  talented  and  civil- 
ized men,  both  here  and  in  Sierra  Leone,  crying  down  the 
Shaingay  misssonaiies  as  traders,  or,  using  their  term, 
"  Merchant  missionaries ;  "  and  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is 
the  opinion  of  the  highest  authorities  by  their  recently 
subjecting  to  license  duties  on  their  boats  as  those  of  ordi- 
nary traders,  whereas  the  custom  regulations  exempt  mis- 
sionary boats  from  paying  license.  Though  my  opinion 
may  be  feeble  on  this  point,  yet  it  demands  your  reasonable 
attention.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  proselyte  you  to  my 
faith  in  the  suitability  of  combining  ministerial  work  with 
trade.  I  do  not  argue  that  because  Peter  was  a  fisherman 
and  St.  Paul  a  tent-maker,  therefore  missionaries  are  to 
combine  evangelistic  works  with  commerce.  Missionary 
labors  in  enlightened  and  Christian  countries  differ.  Ex- 
tensive commerce  in  connection  with  missionary  operations 
in  civilized  countries  where  the  wants  of  pastors  are  ade- 
quately met  either  by  subscription  or  donation,  is  unneces- 
sary. But  in  a  heathen  country  like  Africa, — a  country 
degraded  and  corrupted  by  the  slave-trade, — the  introduc- 
tion of  innocent  commerce,  together  with  Christianity, 
even  where  the  needs  of  missionaries  are  adequately  sup- 
plied, is  a  necessity  and  a  part  of  Christian  duty.  Gom- 
zalez,  the  first  European  slave-dealer,  who  came  to  Africa 


—  13  — 

in  the  year  1434,  would  have  been  very  unsuccessful  in  his 
wicked  designs  had  it  not  been  for  the  anxiety  of  our 
fathers  to  procure  European  commodities.  They  wanted 
the  white  man's  goods,  and  he  in  turn  their  children ;  and, 
worst  of  all,  the  chief  articles  exchanged  for  human  beings 
were  spirits,  tobacco,  swords,  gun-powder,  and  guns.  Inno- 
cent and  well-conducted  commerce  in  cotton  goods  and 
tools  for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  were  kept  away 
from  them.  They  must  be  supplied  with  the  white  man's 
rum  to  render  them  more  stupid,  that  they  might  be  kid- 
napped and  stolen  away  with  greater  facility.  They  must 
have  gun-powder  and  swords  enough  to  make  war  on  their 
brethren  and  get  plenty  captives  to  give  the  white  man's 
vessel  a  good  cargo  of  souls.  In  1771,  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  slave-ships  left  England  for  Africa,  fitted  for 
50,000  slaves.  Our  friend  William  Wilberforce,  in  one  of 
his  statements,  said  "that  the  value  of  British -manufac- 
tures exported  to  Africa  was  only  £500,000,  and  that  En- 
gland exported  during  that  year  as  much  gun-powder  to 
Africa  as  to  all  the  world  put  together.  In  1835,  twenty- 
eight  years  after  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  England  and 
her  colonies,  the  value  of  gun-powder  exported  to  Africa 
for  that  year  alone  was  £150,000.  Its  degrading  influence 
spread  all  over  the  continent,  scattering  the  seeds  of  demor- 
alization and  barbarism  everywhere  to  such  extent  that,  as 
the  great  traveler  Lander  informed  us,  the  Bouchees  sold 
their  own  children  for  beads,  and  that  the  effect  of  the 
slave-trade  introduced  petty  wars  into  the  country  as  a  pro- 
fession. Agriculture  was  neglected,  and  cannibalism  took 
its  place  on  account  of  famine.  We  are  not  astonished  at 
this  when  we  remember  that  an  Israelite  woman  prepared 
her  own  son  for  breakfast  from  the  same  cause.  The 
Mendis,  who  are  supplied  with  spirits  and  implements  of 
war  by  Europeen  merchants  along  the  Sherbro  country, 
for  which  both  they  and  the  Sierra  Leone  government  are 
now  suff'ering  from  dullness  of  trade  and  decrease  of  reve- 


—  14  — 

nue,  will  soon  find  that  through  the  introduction  of  a  mild, 
innocent,  and  Christian  commerce,  it  will  be  more  profita- 
ble and  advantageous  to  employ  a  servant  in  cutting  five 
bushels  of  palm-kernels  to  pay  for  eight  pieces  of  cloth  (or 
one  head  money)  than  to  exchange  him  for  it. 

Is  it  not  then  an  indisputable  fact  that  if  Africa  becomes 
evangelized  and  civilized  it  must  be  through  the  power  of 
the  gospel  combined  with  innocent  commerce?  We  read 
of  the  cruel  king  of  Dahomey  refusing  to  accept  missiona- 
ries because  they  were  no  traders. 

In  one  of  his  discourses  at  Flickinger  Chapel  I  once 
heard  Rev.  J.  Gomer  remark  that  "certain  men  offered  to 
attend  divine  service  for  biscuits.  While  it  is  true  that 
some  may  have  come  for  biscuits,  it  is  also  true  that  God 
sent  them  away  with  the  bread  of  life."  It  is  said  that  the 
chief  of  Casegut,  one  of  the  Bissago  islands,  built  a  chapel 
with  a  bell  to  induce  Europeans  to  come  and  trade  in  his 
country.  Governor  Randall,  late  of  Gambia,  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  the  duke  of  Wellington,  said,  "  Of  all  the  meas- 
ures calculated  to  insure  the  prosperity  of  Africa,  none 
promises  so  well  as  the  encouragement  of  its  legitimate 
commerce  and  agriculture.  *  ^  *  *  Give  an  impulse 
to  industry  by  establishing  model  plantations;  let  moral 
and  religious  education  go  hand  in  hand."  Mr.  McQueen 
says,  "The  future  prosperity  of  Africa  will  be  attained  only 
by  teaching  the  negroes  useful  knowledge  and  the  arts  of 
civilized  life,  and  when  by  the  influence  of  innocent  com- 
merce the  native  chiefs  are  taught  that  they  may  be  rich 
without  selling  men,  and  to  depend  upon  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil."  "Example  is  better  than  precept,"  and  "men  live 
more  by  example  than  reason."  Is  it  not  then  absolutely 
necessary  that  Christianity  should  be  combined  with  in- 
dustry, and  a  model  farming,  with  an  example  of  innocent 
commerce,  be  established  in  heathen  countries  in  order  to 
civilize  the  inhabitants? 


— 15  — 

It  is  unfortunate  for  the  Sherbro  country  that  all  along 
her  rivers  there  is  no  factory  engaging  in  what  might  be 
strictly  styled  innocent  commerce.  The  natives  are  suppli- 
ed too  early  with  guns,  gun-powder,  swords,  and  other  dan- 
gerous articles  which  are  often  inducements  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  many  factions  and  petty  wars. 

It  is  from  the  American  mission's  commerce,  now  in  its 
infant  but  progressive  state,  that  we  hope  to  have  a  model 
of  innocent  and  mild  commerce  combined  with  prosperous 
agriculture.  The  combination  of  trade  with  religious  ob- 
jects in  Sherbro  is  indeed  a  necessity ;  and  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  if  properly  directed,  as  it  is  at  present,  there 
will  be  grand  results. 

The  experiment  of  Professor  Francke,  at  Halle,  and  his 
great  success  proved  this.  The  past  history  of  the  successes 
attending  the  efforts  of  the  United  Brethren  Church  by  this 
method  attest  to  the  same.  Rev.  Thomas  Sims  of  Winches- 
ter (forty-ibur  years  ago),  though  he  himself  was  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England,  strongly  commended  and 
recommended  this  system.  He  pointed  out  Antigua  as  a 
result  of  their  successful  missionary  enterprise,  where  the 
gospel,  though  combined  with  trade,  had  been  so  generally 
received  by  the  negroes,  and  the  slaves  had  become  so  im- 
proved in  habit  and  conduct  that  only  one  negro  was  con- 
demned to  death  during  a  period  of  eight  years.  Martial 
law  was  found  also  to  be  no  longer  necessary  on  Christmas- 
day,  and  the  militia  was  dissolved. 

We  are  thankful  for  the  improvements  of  this  country 
through  the  influence  of  Christianity,  commerce,  and  agri- 
culture introduced  by  the  United  Brethren  Church. 

The  well-managed  road  from  the  mission  to  Shaingay, 
the  naming  of  the  roads  on  the  mission-farm,  the  cultiva- 
tion of  kolan-nuts,  coffee,  and  arrow-root  by  the  natives, 
with  the  improvements  on  some  of  the  houses  at  Shaingay, 
the  publication  of  the  mission-paper  Early  Dawn,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  debating  class  for  the  improvement  of 
the  minds  of  Sherbro  youths,  are  among  the  advancements 
of  the  day. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    HOPE    FOR    THE    FUTURE. 

Having  contrasted  the  present  with  the  past,  let  us  see 
what  hopes  can  be  cherished  for  the  future.  Our  detractors 
have  often  affirmed  that  the  hope  of  Africa  is  buried  in  ob- 
livion ;  but  to  their  great  disappointment,  "  The  morning 
light  is  breaking,  the  darkness  disappears."  This  is  becom- 
ing a  reality  in  British  Sherbro,  as  is  evinced  by  the  relig- 
ious lives  of  many.  The  introduction  of  the  temperance 
society  and  other  social  meetings,  the  desire  for  higher  edu- 
cation, the  liberality  and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  cause 
of  missions  is  supported  by  native  converts,  prove  to  the 
world  that  "we  have  yet  a  soul  and  dare  be  free." 

The  hope  of  the  future  greatness  of  the  Sherbro  country 
must  be  the  result  of  its  religion,  commerce,  agriculture, 
and  education.  The  religion  we  have  embraced  is  a  religion 
of  humility  and  unanimity.  It  is  simply  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  "believe  and  live." 

The  true  spirit  of  Christianity  and  love  which  impelled 
the  founder  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  Otterbein,  to 
embrace  Boehni  in  the  presence  of  a  large  congregation  and 
exclaim,  "  We  are  brethren,"  has  its  echo  still  reverberating. 
This  sound  from  Dayton,  Ohio,  is  heard  upon  our  shores, 
"We  are  all  one  in  Christ." 

Above  all,  it  is  from  the  educated  youths  of  tliis  country 
that  we  expect  to  realize  our  hope  of  Sherbro's  future  great- 
ness. It  is  from  them  that  the  United  Brethren  Church  or 
its  missionary  society,  and  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  will 
reap  the  rewards  of  their  labors.  The  mind  of  an  ignorant 
man  is  chained  down  to  the  bondage  of  superstition,  and 


—  17  — 

he  continues  wallowing  in  the  mire  and  clay  of  stupidity. 
He  sees  differently  from  an  educated  man.  He  sees  men 
like  trees,  walking,  and  sometimes  takes  trees  for  men. 

The  Sherbro  language  can  be  improved,  but  it  needs  edu- 
cation to  shape  it;  and  from  what  we  have  stated  it  may 
he  clearly  seen  that  an  establishment  of  a  good  school  in 
Sherbro,  where  science  would  be  taught,  and  where  amongst 
other  languages  the  Arabic  might  be  introduced,  will  do 
much  for  Africa.  And  we  hail  the  day  when  through  the 
miraculous  influence  of  a  proper  education,  a  full,  regener- 
ated, and  purified  written  language  of  this  vast  country 
shall  spring  from  the  ashes  of  the  old,  stepping  forward  to 
take  its  place  in  African  nomenclature,  when  the  cocoa-nut, 
now  called  "bell-poto,"  or  "white  man's  palm-kernel,"  shall 
be  substituted  by  another  word,  denoting  its  property  or 
quality. 

The  fact  at  present  that  the  language,  though  defective, 
is  composite,  is  a  great  encouragement  for  the  future. 
There  was  no  written  Anglo-Saxon  literature  .until  after 
their  education  and  the  conversion  of  the  people  to  Chris- 
tianity by  the  Romans.  How  harsh  and  ridiculous  would 
the  Anglo  -  Saxon  expressions,  "  Free-necked  man  "  and 
"blood-weight"  now  appear  to  an  Englishman.  And  one 
would  be  at  a  loss  in  retracing  the  word  good-by  to  "Good 
be  wud  ye,"  or  God  be  with  you,  and  the  title,  "beef-eater," 
from  buffet,  a  small  side-board,  and  that  from  the  15,000 
different  words  composing  the  works  of  Shakespeare,  the 
champion  of  English  literature,  1,154  are  from  other  lan- 
guages, which  makes  the  English  language,  as  Grimm  says, 
"  possesses  a  veritable  power  of  expresssion,  such  as  perhaps 
never  stood  at  the  command  of  any  other  language  of 
man,"  after  a  struggle  of  about  two  thousand  years,  to  re- 
main in  its  present  excellency,  a  composite  and  strictly 
borrowed  language. 

If  we  are  to  be  truly  civilized,  it  must  be  by  the  improve- 
ment of  our  language.     He  who  hath  no  language  of  his 


—  18  — 

own  should  not  exist.  The  English  language  is  not  ours ; 
and  he  is  either  a  madman  or  a  fool  who  prefers  a  foreign 
language  to  his  own. 

True  education  will  find  appropriate  words  to  build  up 
the  most  deficient  and  rough  hxnguage,  and  assist  the  nation 
to  express  its  thoughts  more  fully  without  the  splicing  and 
patching  up  of  words.  It  is  for  this  education  we  are  crav- 
ing. Our  hope  depends  on  it ;  and  it  is  from  the  friends  of 
Africa  in  England  and  the  churches  of  America  we  expect 
it.  The  lives  lost  and  all  the  money  spent  for  this  great 
cause  of  redeeming  Africa  will  have  no  effect  and  no  future 
success  without  a  system  of  good  and  sound  education. 
Rev.  D.  F.  Wilberfoi'ce,  in  his  "  Appeal  from  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent to  the  Church  in  America,  said,  "  If  the  church  in 
Africa  is  to  have  that  rapid  growth  which  God  intends,  if 
the  tribes  far  and  near  are  to  be  brought  to  the  saving 
knowledge  of  God,  it  can  only  be  done  by  educating  native 
youths  for  the  work."  If  the  Sherbro  countr}'  is  to  be  great, 
if  there  is  to  be  any  prosperity  in  the  future,  it  must  depend 
on  her  present  exertions.     It  is  now  for  her  to 

"Pluck  bright  honor  from  the  pale-faced  moon, 
Or  dive  into  the  bottom  of  the  deep, 
Where  fathom-line  could  never  touch  the  ground 
And  drag  up  drowned  honor  by  the  lock." 

The  brevity  of  life  commands  us,  "What  thou  doest,  do 
quickly."  Let  the  present  be  combined  with  the  future  by 
labor  and  patience,  and  the  future  hope  of  Sherbro's  great- 
ness will  soon  be  a  reality.     Horace  says, 

"  Spatio  brevi 
Spem  longam  receses :  diwi  loquim  ur,  furgerit  invida 
Aestas;  carpe  diem,  quam  minimum  credula  posterio" 

That  is,  from  the  short  space  of  time  you  should  exclude 
distant  hopes;  for  whilst  we  speak  the  envious  hours  are 
passing  away;  enjoy  the  present  time,  trusting  as  little  as 


—  19  — 

possible  to  futurity.     The  same  spirit  of  the  Latin  poet 
runs  through  those  beautiful  lines  of  Francis : 

"Thy  lengthened  hopes  will  produce  bound, 
Proportioned  to  the  flying  hour : 
Whilst  thus  we  talk  in  careless  ease 
The  envious  moments  wing  their  flight, 
Instant  the  pleasing  pleasure  sieze 
Nor  trust  to-morrow's  doubtful  light." 

In  conclusion,  I  have  a  word  for  African  youths.  Africa 
is  ours  by  divine  gift,  and  we  are  responsible  for  her  pros- 
perity according  to  the  proportion  of  advantages  and  light 
given  us.  We  have  great  advantages.  The  eye  of  the 
civilized  world  is  upon  us.  This  moment  the  Germans, 
English,  French,  and  Americans  are  on  our  continent. 
We  can  say  that  they  that  are  with  us  are  greater  than 
those  that  are  against  us.  We  must  not  be  discouraged  by 
the  noise  of  our  detractors,  for  they  too  will  soon  be  made 
to  pity  us. 

John  Newton,  the  great  African  slave-dealer  in  the  Plan- 
tain and  Bananas  islands,  was  miraculously  turned  by  God 
to  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  and  he  was  both  the  patron 
and  adviser  of  William  Willberforce  in  his  great  struggles 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Charles  Sumner,  the  Wilber- 
force  of  America,  was  struck  down  in  congress  whilst  de- 
fending the  black  man ;  and  we  have  on  record  the  names 
of  many  missionaries  who  gave  their  very  life  for  the  good 
of  Africa.  The  vast  number  of  missionaries  throughout 
our  continent  and  the  numerous  expenses  and  exertions 
of  American  missionaries  in  Sherbro  alone  prove  that  God 
has  raised  up  friends  for  us.  Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger  has  man- 
ifested from  his  repeated  visits,  some  of  which  were  un- 
dertaken at  his  own  expense,  and  his  zeal  at  home  in 
lecturing  for  the  good  of  Africa,  a  yearning  desire  for  the 
elevation  and  salvation  of  our  race.  May  he  have  his  re- 
ward.   William  Wilberforce  was  shot  at  in  London,  and 


^20  — 

was  hunted  like  a  deer  in  the  streets  of  Liverpool  and 
Bristol.  Rev.  John  Smith,  of  the  Independents,  was  con- 
demned to  be  hanged  at  the  Island  of  Demarara  for  defend- 
ing the  rights  of  negroes  and  from  harsh  treatment.  He 
died  in  prison,  in  1824.  Rev.  William  J.  Shrewsbury,  a 
Wesleyan  missionary,  was  driven  from  Barbadoes  by  an  in- 
furiated mob  of  European  slave-dealers  for  communicating 
with  Sir  Fowel  Buxton  about  the  brutal  treatment  of  Afri- 
cans. And  though  the  Wesleyan  chapel  was  demolished, 
yet  the  society  did  not  give  up.  When  he  was  on  his 
death-bed,  Wesley's  last  words  to  Wilberforce  were,  *'  Per- 
severe in  the  glorious  enterprise  of  effecting  the  abolition  of 
the  traffic  in  the  sinews  and  blood  of  men.  Go  on  in  the 
name  of  God  and  the  power  of  his  might,  till  even  Amer- 
ican slavery,  the  vilest  that  ever  saw  the  sun,  shall  vanish 
away  before  it." 

It  could  be  said  of  our  country,  since  the  time  of  the 
slave-trade,  that  the  continent  of  Africa  '^  suffereth  violence 
until  now,  and  the  violent  taketh  it  by  force."  Many  even 
in  America  are  this  day  made  to  suffer  violence  for  their  zeal 
in  rescuing  us  and  embracing  us  as  brethren.  I  remember 
reading  just  a  few  months  ago  an  article  headed,  "  Persecu- 
tion in  Virginia."  A  kind-hearted  and  philanthropic 
white  man  was  accounted  unfit  for  the  position  of  a  pub- 
lic school-director  for  associating  himself  with  negroes. 

You  will,  my  countrymen,  be  able  to  judge  from  this  th« 
•ondition  under  which  we  are  still  regarded  by  some  Chrii- 
tian  men  in  civilized  countries. 

Christianity,  education,  commerce,  and  agriculture  shall 
■catter  the  gloom  that  now  OTerhangs  the  Sherbro  country, 
and  make  all  to  be  fr«e,  both  body  and  ioul. 


